U-M Medical School jumps to 8th in FY2001 NIH grant rankings

By Mary Beth ReillyUMHS Public Relations

Biomedical researchers in the Medical School received a record $213 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in federal fiscal year 2001, making the school eighth in the nation and third among public universities in total NIH grants. Last year, U-M Medical School was ranked number 10; this is the first time the school has achieved the eighth-ranked position.

In grant data recently released by the NIH, U-M Medical School grants increased 20.5 percent since fiscal year 2000, with 603 awards528 were for individual research awardsthe seventh-largest total in the nation for two consecutive years. Training grants, fellowships, research and development contracts, and other awards also are included in the total funding figure. The Medical School has more than doubled its NIH funding over the past decade.

We first entered the NIH top 10 tier in 1988, with $71 million in total support. Growth since then, including this years jump to the number eight spot, is an indicator of our facultys commitment to seeking visionary advances in scientific research, says Allen Lichter, dean of the Medical School. Were also proud to be the third-highest ranked in training grants because of our continuing commitment to professional education.

Not only do the NIH awards make up a majority of the Medical Schools external funding, but they also comprise a significant percentage of NIH and total research funds awarded to the entire University. Medical School NIH awards account for more than 70 percent of the total $302.3 million in NIH funding to the U-M.

The National Institutes of Health are the nations largest funding agency for biomedical research, and the amount of funding that a medical school receives is a major indicator of research activity. The NIHs list of research awards is available on its Web site, grants1.nih.gov/grants/award/rank/medttl.htm.

University and departments rank high with NI

By Theresa Maddix

The University placed sixth for the second year in a row in funding from the National Institutes of Health with a total of $302.3 million. U-Ms NIH federal funding for 2001 is supported by high rankings in dentistry, biomedical engineering, nursing, medicine, public health and pharmacy. The School of Dentistry received the highest U-M ranking with a third place position. Medical School researchers received the highest dollar amount with $213 million.

The School of Dentistry placed third in dental schools with 43 awards for a total of $9,853,052.

The School of Engineering was fourth among biomedical engineering schools with 19 awards for $7,710,132.

The School of Nursing was sixth for nursing schools with 19 awards for $5,138,380.

The School of Public Health was ninth for public health schools with 40 awards for $17,727,742.